Five Months to Go

We have about five months to go and it's causing a riot of emotions to shuffle through our minds. Nakaka-excite na makita yung mga pinag-hirapan namin during the past months and at the same time, nakaka-pressure tapusin yung mga natitira pang kulang. Hindi din maiwasan mag-alala sa kung ano-anong bagay. I guess the OC in us can never be sated until the wedding itself happens already.

Anyway, here are some of the things that we were able to work on within the past month.

Wedding Fair

We attended a wedding fair organized by Themes and Motifs last June. We are able to check out yung mga natitirang bagay na wala pa kami, which is mostly for my barong and the invitations. It's amazing that of all the wedding fairs we've attended during the last year and a half, sa wedding fairs lang ng T&M kami nakapag-book ng suppliers. Both are impulse bookings pa. Read on to see what we got booked under T&M.

Wedding Ring and More

We finally got our rings from La Real Jewelry and from the fitting up to the details, they're perfect! We met with Katrina of La Real on the T&M wedding fair to get the rings and the freebies (arrhae, cord, and ring replicas). The cord is personally crafted by Katrina, herself, and it looks very elegant. Sakto sa vintage theme namin.

lower photo is the bottom part ('habambuhay' engraved in Baybayin script)
we designed it that way so we can switch between designs
(believe us, it's a safety feature... LOL)

We can't express how much satisfied we are on this package. Given that it is one of the earliest item that we booked for the wedding (June 2012) - and the first one we booked at a T&M event - nakakagaan ng pakiramdam makitang unti-unti nang nabubuo yung mga sinimulan namin since last year for the wedding.

i can see the rosy tinge from up here

Gifts from the Couple

One of the other impulse booking we've had on a T&M event just came recently as we chanced upon Robert and his Red Clay Factory booth. They are selling custom-made clay lamps crafted from a town in Albay. Matagal na kaming naghahanap ng maganda ipang-regalo during the wedding kaya sobrang "lightbulb" moment nung nakita namin yung produkto nila. It seemed a bit off for our vintage theme but the unique designs appealed to the whimsical side of it. 

let there be light

We immediately booked them that day for a very affordable reservation fee. We are continuously in touch with them up to this day to discuss how we want our clay lamps to look like before they start their production.

Kuya Robert of Red Clay Factory

D.I.Y. Crafts

Lately, we've been increasing our "craft nights" together (with Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Glorietta 2 and Starbucks in 6750 as the usual hangout) to push the production of more DIY items. As of today, we've created enough felt flowers to decorate the following projects:

• bouquets for the secondary sponsors, our moms, and the bride herself
• colored tin pails for the flower girls
• wooden containers as table ornaments

lagi yang nagkakalat sa coffee shop! tsk tsk!

Here are our other pending DIY projects:

• ornamental board with our monogram crafted in interlaced thread
• wishing tree and tags
• pillow for the rings
• boutonniere for the groom

(work in progress) tin pails for the flower girls... isa sa mga mastercraft ni Kath [obi]

wag masyadong makyutan... baka lumaki ulo ni Kath [obi]

Lights and Sounds

We originally planned on getting musicians but it being low in priority budget-wise, we settled on getting a packaged lights and sounds deal instead. Kat personally initiated an extensive research to land a good deal and we eventually decided to go with C1 Discotech Lights and Sounds. 

They gave us a list of the machines and devices they can provide and it's just the right things required to make the venue extra appealing visually and to support our audio needs. Nothing fancy is necessary. Hindi naman kami magpapa-disco so the basic setup will do. Nakapag-ayos na sila sa North Greenhills Clubhouse in the past so it's a plus na alam na nila ang layout ng venue.

a sample of their work (taken from their FB page)

We meet with Sir Bobby of C1 just a couple of weeks ago to discuss the particulars and to give our down payment. Isa sa mga mahalagang napag-usapan namin yung kung anong mga kulay at klase ng ilaw ang gagamitin at kung saan itatayo ang mga ito. He has been very accommodating kahit noong nag-uumpisa pa lang kami makipag correspond sa kanila for initial inquiries.

Video Projector

We are getting a 7x7 feet screen for our venue and rented a 5000 ANSI lumens projector from Projectors for Rent PH. We've inquired and researched a lot just to determine how much ANSI lumens to get. Nakasalalay kasi ito sa luwag ng venue (which will determine the number of audience) at amount ng ambient light dito (kung gaano kaliwanag ang lugar).

their setup for Handle Bar (Makati)

They are easy to talk with and answered all our questions clearly (si Miss Ellen ang kausap namin palagi over the phone). Their rate is fairly competitive with similar businesses we've found online or has been referred by friends kaya kinuha na namin sila agad. Here are some of the things we will or plan to project during the program:

• On-site video from photographer.
• On-site video from videographer.
• Save-the-Date animation.
• AVP of our photos.

* New items added on the Wedding Updates page.
* New items added on the Bookmarks section.
* New items added on the Resources section.

The Wedding Band (Not the Headbanging Type)

Despite being groggy and dead tired from an R&R with friends at Club Manila East last Sunday, we still could not pass up the chance to look for potential wedding suppliers and headed straight at "The Philippine Wedding Summit - June 2012" organized by Themes & Motifs.

free tote bag and a wedding magazine upon entrance

The World Trade Center Metro Manila is huge and perfect for such event that although there's a lot of guests and a wide selection of supplier booths, may sense of breathing space pa din at relax ang aming pag-iikot. Our last wedding fair at the NBC tent wasn't this convenient, medyo stress dahil ang sikip ng lugar.

Dalawa ang targets namin for the event. Una, mag-inquire sa Queendsland Catering Services (we learned ahead of time that they will have an exhibit there) at pangalawa, makapag-canvass ng wedding band (singsing). We were able to accomplish both... and more!

First, we learned that aside from the food, Queensland would only cover the table set up. Akala namin may package din sila for decorating the reception venue na parang sa Tamayo's. In any case, kung ang basis ay yung mga malulupit na table setup nila from the photos we saw online, their prices are well worth it. In fact, may mga trip na kami sa basic designs nila.

saw this from one of the suppliers... love the flower cones

Next, we saw this supplier (15-58 Flowers and Styles) that offers decoration services and their arrangements looks totally elegant. We love the idea behind their conical flower stands and they just have a lot of similar creative works under their portfolio. Nakaka-engganyong magpa-book agad! 

Lastly, the wedding ring. The discounts on wedding bands are huge and the freebies are enticing! So enticing in fact that we booked outright (ang plano lang namin sana ay mag compare ng mga prices). It went down to three suppliers na maigi naming pinagpilian before we finally booked La' Real Jewelry.

They're giving out a 50% discount! At may libre nang aras at custom wedding cord (design of our choice) on a very convenient payment package. They will also provide us (for free!) with a cheaper replica of our wedding band that is perfect for daily casual wearing.

Although we picked a ready design from their plethora of rings (see photo below), La' Real will accommodate some customization from us. Majority of it will be in rose gold and the middle part (holding the diamond) in white gold. Sobrang sold kami sa kulay ng rose gold (see sample here). It being unconventional made it look even more appealing. Bonus na lang na it complements our skin tone.

our rings will be based from this design plus a few customization

We want a Baybayin (alibata) script engraved somewhere on the ring (most likely on the opposite end from where the diamond is, on the visible side of the ring [obi]). This is aside from the usually engraved name and wedding date (which we might actually forego). So far, ang napili naming salita for the alibata word ay 'habangbuhay' (forever) at mukang ma-angas naman tignan yung scripted version nito. We'll see how we can arrange for it but overall, we're so excited for our rings!

"forever" in Baybayin

Take Note: It's wise to buy the wedding band ahead of time (especially for us na 1 year and several months pa ang actual date) because gold and diamond appreciates in time. Mas makaka-mura kung bibili ng mas maaga.

By the way, we got our entrance to the event for free. Thanks sa complementary ticket Ate Joyce!